Pinwheel toys are well known in the prior art. They usually consist of one or more shaped pieces of plastic, paper or the like, cut from sheet material to define a plurality of blades with a central orifice through which a pin or shaft is passed when the pinwheel is mounted. The pin or shaft is usually perpendicularly mounted to another elongated shaft which is used as a handle. Wind blowing against the blades of the pinwheel causes rotation of the blades about the pin or shaft like a propeller.
Attempts are often made by pinwheel makers to create impressive visual displays with the rotation of the pinwheel. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,507 discloses an electric lawn ornament having multicolored lights behind a pinwheel type and wheel producing an impressive visual display while spinning. Some pinwheels are also made to be visually impressive while not rotating such as by having various patterns imprinted on the blades.
Plastic toys of various types containing dyes or pigments, even fluorescent, phosphorescent and dayglow dyes or pigments, are also known. Regarding the general use of fluorescent pigments in plastics, the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (3rd Ed., Vol. 6, page 612) states:
Fluorescent pigments or dyes depend upon their ability to absorb light at one wavelength and to remit it in a narrow intense band at a longer wavelength . . . The dyes used include the rhodamines, which emit pink, and aminonaphthalimides which are bright greenish yellow. To obtain maximum effect, the dyes are dissolved in brittle resins at low concentrations. The colored resins are then ground to powders and used as pigments. The brightness of such a combination far exceeds that of any pigment alone. PA1 Fluorescent dyes do not have lightfastness. Their use in plastics is confined to the lower temperature resins, vinyls, polyethylene, and acrylics, at maximum temperatures of 200.degree. C. PA1 There are many types of luminescent materials, some of which require a special source of excitation such as an electric discharge or ultraviolet radiation. Daylight-fluorescent pigments, in contrast, require no artificially general energy. Daylight, or an equivalent white light, can excite these unique materials not only to reflect colored light selectively, but to give off an extra glow of fluorescent light, often with high efficiency and surprising brilliance . . . PA1 Daylight-fluorescent pigments, with a few exceptions, consist of particles of colorless resins containing dyestuffs that not only have color but are capable of intense fluorescence in solution. The resin is truly a solvent for the dyes. For example, in one resin system, a thermoplastic molten resin is formed containing the dye. Upon cooling to room temperature, the resin mass becomes very brittle. It is then pulverized to the proper fineness . . . PA1 A fluorescent substance is one that absorbs radiant energy of certain wavelengths and, after a fleeting instant, gives off part of the absorbed energy as quanta of longer wavelengths. In contrast to ordinary colors in which the absorbed energy degrades entirely to heat, light emitted from a fluorescent color adds to the light returned by simple reflection to give the extra glow characteristic of a daylight-fluorescent material. . . PA1 The brilliance of daylight-fluorescent colors leads to their use for the decoration and enhancement of a wide range of products. Children's plastic toys, plastic containers, and many other consumer items are colored with fluorescent pigments to heighten their appeal . . . PA1 Most manufacturers of fluorescent pigments offer special products for coloring thermoplastic molding resins . . . Low- and high-density polyethylene, high-impact and general purpose polystyrene, ABS, and various acrylic polymers are best suited for these pigments. The pigment, 1-2% of the total weight of the plastic, is added either as a dry-blended material or first formulated into a color-concentration pellet which is blended into the uncolored resin before molding into a finished article.
And from Volume 14, pp. 546-547:
__________________________________________________________________________ Important Dyestuffs for Daylight-Fluorescent Pigments CAS Registry Colour Index Name Number (CI) Number Manufacturer __________________________________________________________________________ Rhodamine B [81-88-9] Basic Violet 10 BASF Rhodamine F5G [989-38-8] Basic Red 1 BASF Xylene Red B [3520-42-1] Acid Red 52 Sandoz Chemical Fluorescent Yellow Y [2478-20-8] Solvent Yellow 44 L. B. Holliday Maxillon Brilliant [12221-8-2] Basic Yellow 40 CIBA-GEIGY Flavine 10GFF Alberta Yellow.sup.a Solvent Yellow 135 Day-Glo Color Potomac Yellow [61902-43-0] Solvent Yellow 160:1 Day-Glo Color Macrolex Fluorescent Solvent Yellow 160:1 F. Bayer Yellow 10GN __________________________________________________________________________ .sup.a Soluble only in strong solvents such as dimethyl formamide and in some molten resins.
And from Vol. 14, pp. 564,565:
__________________________________________________________________________ Approximately Equivalent Commercial Pigment Colors.sup.a Day-Glo A-Series.sup.b Lawter B-3500 Series.sup.c Radiant R-105 Series.sup.d __________________________________________________________________________ A-17-N saturn yellow B-3539 lemon yellow R-105-810 chartreuse A-18-N signal green B-3545 green R-1-5-811 green A-16-N arc yellow B-3515 gold-yellow R-105-812 orange-yellow A-15-N blaze orange B-3514 yellow-orange R-105-813 orange A-14-N fire orange B-3513 red-orange R-105-814 orange-red A-13-N rocket red B-3534 red R-105-815 red A-12 neon red B-3530 cerise red R-105-816 cerise A-11 aurora pink B-3522 pink R-105-817 pink A-21 corona magenta B-3554 magenta R-103-G-118 magenta A-19 horizon blue B-3556 vivid blue R-103-G-119 blue __________________________________________________________________________ .sup.a Similar colors are listed horizontally but are not exact color matches. .sup.b Thermoplastic pigments for use in paint, screen ink, plastisol, gravure ink, paper coatings, and many other applications. .sup.c Multipurpose pigments for paint, gravure ink, screen ink, paper coatings, plastisol, candles, plastics, and many other applications. .sup.d Multipurpose pigments for paint, screen ink, paper coatings, plastisol, gravure ink, plastics, and many other applications.
In spite of such known prior art, pinwheels with glowing edges are not known.